


Together now, forever then

by Drhair76



Series: Forbidden Friends and Romantic Flights [2]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, F/M, Gen, Hiccup and Snotlout care about each other, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Magical Realism, Protective Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25556947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drhair76/pseuds/Drhair76
Summary: Ruffnut speaks up next, her voice trembling. "I trust Fishlegs."Hiccup watches her tug at the ends of her hair and bites down a sigh. He can't wait until he can take them all and run, get out of here. He looks over to Astrid and finds her looking back.Even without Fishlegs's abilities he knows that she's thinking the same thing.or, the kids have magic and it only makes things harder
Relationships: Fishlegs Ingerman/Snotlout Jorgenson/Ruffnut Thorston, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Snotlout Jorgenson, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Series: Forbidden Friends and Romantic Flights [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1573594
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Together now, forever then

**Author's Note:**

> yes im back with my weakness: magic aus, found family and soft hiccup and snotlout <3

Hiccup knows that Fishlegs knew he was coming but he still pounded on the door anyway. 

Astrid wouldn't have knocked, she would've just slammed the door open and said sorry later-  _ we ask for forgiveness Hiccup, not permission-  _ but Hiccup was never good at confrontation. 

Besides, it only took Fish a half a second to open the door, seeing as he could sense Hiccup coming about a minute before Hiccup actually knocked. 

"Yeah, Hiccup?" He asks, leaning against the doorway a little. He looks tired and Hiccup figures that- yeah, he must be- it's no simple feat to hide yourself away all day, every day. But Hiccup isn't ashamed to admit that right now he doesn't care. 

"Fish, it's Ruff and Tuff." He says. "They're in trouble- I think Ack knows." 

Fishlegs blinks once and Hiccup has a brief second of quiet before he goes into absolute panic mode. 

"Oh my- okay." He frets, waving his hands around like he didn't know what to do with himself. "What do we do? How can we- I mean, are you sure?" 

Hiccup takes a breath. "Fish-" 

"They're going to get  _ killed. _ I told them not to pull that prank on Ack- he was one second away from making  _ up  _ a lie about them anyway! I saw it and I  _ told  _ them!"

"Fish-"

"Oh my Gods, if they can't keep their mouths shut, it's only a matter of time before they find us out too-" 

" _ Fish."  _ Hiccup snaps, his fists clenching. In his slight anger, he rises off the ground a little and the wind rustles around him restlessly. Fishlegs’ eyes go wide. 

"Fish," Hiccup continues in a calmer, but still firm tone, back on the ground now, a little embarrassed by his slip of control. "The twins are okay. They're in a safe place, but I need your help." 

Fishlegs swallows, very  _ very  _ grateful that his parents were off on a trip for the weekend. "Okay. Alright, um-" 

Hiccup taps his fingers against his leg anxiously. Astrid and Snotlout were with the twins, yeah, but Ruffnut seemed pretty shaken up and when Hiccup left, Tuffnut was fidgeting in the way that usually meant something was bound to blow up sooner rather than later. 

“Okay, okay.” Fishlegs says finally. “I can drive by their place and see what’s going on. And if something seems off, I’ll let you know.” 

Hiccup nods, already feeling leagues better. “You know where we’ll be.” 

…

Hiccup was born in the air. 

He’s lucky that his mother gave birth with a midwife because if not, he would’ve immediately been taken away by the hospital patrons. 

Valka had to reach up to hold him and when she did, when she tucked him against her body all warm and snug it was like his tether to the Earth. 

His mom was beautiful and wild, like a spark on a live wire. Sometimes she'd talk in tongues and she'd take Hiccup to the Zoo and whisper at the lizards like they were her friends. 

She goes missing when Hiccup is small, only seven years old, too young to understand. All he's with left is a heartbroken father and uncle who both swear to protect Hiccup with everything they have. 

And of course, it's not Stoick's fault. Hiccup doesn't blame him- he can't. He didn't really know what to do with Hiccup, not really. Not like his mom did. So there were no more trips to the zoo to see how 'cloudjumper' was doing, no more drives to open empty fields where Valka would keep watch as Hiccup tumbled through the air, no more shared secret grins when Hiccup would fly up onto Stoick's back while his parents danced. 

Stoick does the best with what he knows, and what he knows is keeping Hiccup's magic under wraps. And frankly, considering everything, Hiccup was lucky. 

His cousin, who'd been regularly sneaking into Hiccup's home ever since he was old enough to climb, started coming in with bruises and welts that couldn't have come from a playground. 

Hiccup would take one look at the marks on Snotlout's skin and hurry off to get as many blankets as he could carry. They'd build a fort- sagging and small, but good enough for them- and curl up together underneath it. 

"My dad," Snotlout would start, shaky and quiet, "he hit me. Says that I can't- that I can't be weird." 

Hiccup eyed Snotlout's tightly clasped hands. "Weird?" 

Then Snotlout clammed up, afraid to speak, so Hiccup did instead. 

"Mom used to take me to the forests, by the creek. Said that there was no one around for miles. She'd talk to all sorts of animals and spot me while I flew." 

And Hiccup would talk and talk and talk until the tension gradually seeped out of Snotlout and he was watching Hiccup with sleepy eyes. 

"I can make fire." He admitted quietly as Hiccup was pausing for breath. He cupped his hands and a flame appeared, small but bright. 

Hiccup gaped and scooted forward to see better but Snotlout cringed away like he expected something else. Hiccup paused and then pulled back, not losing the awed smile on his face. 

"Snotlout, that's  _ cool.  _ Your dad is so stupid for thinking anything else." 

And Snotlout relaxed further and smiled. 

Those were the good days. Because of course there were days when Snotlout would come in and he'd been shaking and Hiccup would have to drag him to their backyard and let him smolder in the grass. Or he'd have his dad pull out the bonfire so that Snotlout could watch the flames fall and rise, breathing with them. 

And sometimes Astrid would come over, to sit in his garage and angrily smash up bricks with her mind.  _ Her  _ parents liked to try and use her magic for their gain- have her do work around the house or stuff for extra money. 

"I try to tell them," Astrid huffed one time, as Hiccup and Snotlout sat in the smashed remains of Stoick's extra brick overlay, "that my magic being found out is  _ dangerous _ , that I can't just use it freely. They don't understand. I've also tried to tell them that if they need money, I can get a job. They just-" 

"-Don't get it." Hiccup finished miserably. 

Hiccup would take them to the kitchen and close all the blinds. He'd say, "Astrid, you should see Snotlout cook, he's pretty good," and Snotlout would nod proudly then pull them both along with him, making Hiccup fly up to get the high ingredients and making Astrid crack the eggs with her mind. 

And afterward, laying on the floor of the kitchen with a half eaten cake between them, Astrid would admit, with her head in Hiccup's lap, that she couldn't wait to get out of her house and that when she does she's taking them all with her. 

Hiccup would brush his hands through her hair, watch his cousin as he licked warm frosting off his fingers and imagine Astrid's fantasy. 

But while Hiccup had his father and Snotlout and Astrid had Hiccup, the twins didn't have anyone but themselves. Their parents were young and busy, constantly taking business trips and hardly offering any attention when they  _ were  _ around. 

It was no wonder that they were the first ones to let it slip, only having each other and having to practically beg for an adult's attention, whether it was good  _ or _ bad. 

So when Hiccup finds out they might have gotten caught, he doesn't even complain, he just saddles up to help them. 

...

When Hiccup gets to their little hiding spot, (affectionally dubbed The Cove) Astrid is there looking stern, her arm crossed over her chest. She's glaring at Ruffnut and Tuffnut who are both sitting on the forest floor. 

They look pretty deflated for Ruff and Tuff, eyes downcast, Ruff leaning into Tuff's side like he was the only thing holding her up. 

Snotlout is beside them, sitting on a rock. His hands are clasped together tight, the way he does when he forcefully suppresses his fire. He's hunched, nervous, full of quiet anger and fear. 

Hiccup hurries close, the wind propelling him forward faster. At the sight of Hiccup, Astrid's jaw unclenches and Tuff's brow unfurrows. 

"I sent Fishlegs to drive by your home to see what's going on without being too suspicious." He says. He pauses for a brief second, then reaches down to tap at Snotlout's clasped hands. 

Snotlout relaxes automatically, remembering Hiccup's number one rule since finding the cove- there's no reason for fear or shame here. 

"You sent Fish?" Tuffnut asks, sounding incredulous. 

Hiccup nods. 

He knows that a lot of people underestimate Fish but he's better at hiding in plain sight than people think. Years of keeping quiet around his doting parents and ignoring particularly loud minds would do that. 

Plus Fish's gift was the least noticeable out of all of them. 

"Hiccup knows what he's doing." Snotlout says, quiet, firm. 

Hiccup throws his cousin a grateful look but Snotlout misses it, fiddling with a flame on his fingertips. 

Ruffnut speaks up next, her voice trembling. "I trust Fishlegs." 

Hiccup watches her tug at the ends of her hair and bites down a sigh. He can't wait until he can take them all and run, get out of here. He looks over to Astrid and finds her looking back. 

Even without Fishlegs's abilities he knows that she's thinking the same thing. 

A nice big house in the countryside, full of space for Hiccup to fly and the twins to let loose with the explosions at their fingertips. A large kitchen where Snotlout could cook with his hands and a fireplace for him to keep the house warm with his fire. It would be far away enough from other people that Fish could escape the constant loudness of other people's crowding thoughts and Astrid could work to find her own enjoyment in her powers. 

"Won't they think it's weird that we all go missing at the same time?" Astrid asks, always thinking seven steps ahead. 

"Only if they're actually looking for them. If Fish comes back and says it's true then-" Hiccup pauses, bites his lip, "-then I'll throw them off the scent." 

Astrid jerks. "What-" 

" _ No."  _ Snotlout says, standing. 

Hiccup shakes his head. "Guys, it makes sense." 

Tuffnut shakes his head, looking unusually serious. "Hic, no. No way. We- we fucked up alright. We should face the consequences." 

Ruff shifts to sitting up by herself, not leaning on Tuff anymore. "Hiccup, you're dumb but you aren't stupid-" 

"It makes sense guys. Think about it. My mother-" Hiccup's voice cracks a bit, but he keeps going, "she ran because she was suspected. No one says it but it's true. It would only make sense for me to take this one. People- people already have a feeling about me." 

Astrid steps forward, jabbing a finger into Hiccup's shoulder. "Screw other people! What about us? Hiccup, you promised us that we'd all make it out of here  _ together.  _ You promised us- you promised  _ me."  _

"Hiccup." Snotlout says, deadly serious. "I'm not going anywhere without you. I'm not." 

Hiccup opens his mouth to protest but Snotlout's hands are flaming. "No Hiccup, if you're turning yourself in then so am I." 

"Me too." Astrid says.

"Me three." Ruffnut. 

"Me four." Tuffnut. 

Astrid reaches up, cupping Hiccup's cheek. "Together or not at all Hiccup. We promised." Her voice is gentle but still firm, allowing for no argument. 

Hiccup is quiet for a moment, watching the way Astrid's blue eyes steeled in determination. Then he caught Snotlout's, then Ruffnut's, then Tuffnut's, all with the same look mirrored back to him. 

"Alright." He sighs. "Okay. I'm- I won't do anything without telling you." 

Astrid breathes a quiet sigh of relief, pulling away. She pauses, then swiftly punches Hiccup in the arm. 

Hiccup winces. "Ow. Okay, yeah. I deserved that one." 

Snotlout sinks back to sitting, satisfied now that Hiccup won't go running to turn himself in without him. Astrid follows suit, pulling Hiccup down next to her, fitting their hands together. 

They all sit there in a tight, quiet circle. It's somber enough that it feels like a funeral until Ruffnut breaks it. 

"I've always wanted to travel the world. See something cool. Maybe climb Mount Everest." 

Astrid laughs. "Something cool and dangerous?" 

"Something cool and dangerous." Ruffnut confirms. 

"I've always wanted to learn how to cook. For real. Hiccup, you always eat whatever I give you but I'm not stupid, I know it's not good." Astrid says, grinning at him. 

"I- I like it," Hiccup argues weakly, "It's great." 

Astrid rolls her eyes but leans over and kisses his cheek. "Thanks but you've just got a strong stomach." 

"Well," Hiccup shrugs, blushing slightly, "Dad isn't the best chef either. Snotlout got all the cooking genes in this family." 

Snotlout huffs but his chest puffs out proudly. 

"And anyway, I've always wanted to become a vet." 

"Unsurprising." Ruffnut says. 

"Yeah, you're pretty good at tending to Toothless when he's not feeling well." Astrid hums. 

Hiccup's gaze flickers to Snotlout-  _ not just Toothless.  _ "I feel like I could be good at it if I had the chance." 

"I could be good at science if _ I _ had the chance." Tuffnut says. 

"You  _ are  _ good at science." Hiccup points out. 

Tuffnut rolls his eyes and wiggles his fingers, making the air spark. "Big science- like blowing things up. It's all Chemistry, school won't let us really have at it." 

"Oh I wonder why." Hiccup says dryly. 

"I used to want to be a wrestler, or a cowboy. Something cool and rugged and dangerous. But now I think I just want to be a dad- a good one. I want a family of my own and I want to be good for them." Snotlout says. 

They all smile sadly at him and there's a beat of silence. 

"Or a movie star." Snotlout says, a grin stretching over his face. "That'd be cool too." 

They all laugh and it's almost like they're twelve again- just hanging out together for fun, not hiding away because their magic makes them vulnerable. 

Then Fishlegs comes tumbling in, a huge smile on his face, panting slightly. 

"Guys, guys they don't suspect anything. No magic at all." He hurries to get out. Hiccup catches Ruff and Tuff exchange relieved looks and Astrid's hand squeezes his. "Ack is just mad and will probably make you guys rebuild his shed." 

Tuffnut makes a face but Astrid smacks his arm before he can say anything. 

"That's better than being found out." She snaps. "Be grateful." 

"Yeah, and try not to do it again." Hiccup says as Tuffnut droops. "This has been enough of a scare for the rest of my life." 

"Come over to my house." Fishlegs offers, shrugging. "My parents are gone and if you go by your house now, Ack will probably yell at you." 

Ruffnut grins, then tucks her arm into his. "Okay but only if Snotlout comes and bakes cookies." 

Snotlout sighs like he's put out but Hiccup can see the way he smiles. He takes Ruffnut's other arm and looks over to Astrid. 

"Come on Astrid, you wanna learn how to bake cookies?" 

Hiccup answers with an enthusiastic  _ yes  _ before she can and Astrid hits him in the arm like she's upset. When he looks over she's beaming, glowing with happiness. 

"You're lucky I like you Haddock. Don't push it." She says, yanking Tuffnut up to his feet. "Come on Tuff, stop moping. Next time, don't blow things up that you'll have to fix."

"Ha  _ ha."  _ Tuffnut says. "Easy for you to say, Ack doesn't annoy you like he does us." 

"Ack annoys everyone Tuffnut," Fishlegs says, marching them all out of the forest, "I would know, I'm always right." 

Tuffnut groans loudly and Hiccup smiles as he listens to them bicker. Eventually they're gonna get out the way that they want. Eventually they'll be free to be themselves with no fear. Hiccup promised and he doesn't break his promises. 


End file.
